pickup adjustment (bass side), am i alone?

[tedro]

i keep finding that i want to lower (sometimes quite a bit) the bass side of my pickups. i can get, or, this is separate from dialing in the tone at the amp and/or box... in fact that seems to work better at the Bass knob(s)... probably because, frankly, it should if that is what i hear.

iow, i seem to consistently find i want to lower the bass side quite a bit... i want to bass notes (strings) to be better blended and the middle and highs to come out more (as they naturally should, imo). the bass is still strong, mind you and i can hit it hard if i choose.

i have done this on Fenders and presently Fralins.

what i want to know is: am i alone? how many do this?
it's funny and a bit off-putting because i may have expert techs setup, perhaps after some repair or new part, a guitar and they generally do pickup balance and so i don't want to change it... but i find that i really need to "go back" to this much lower bass.

it's always worked quite well.
anyone else any experiences here/hear???

[fezz parka]

Go with what sounds good to you. Screw what anyone else says.

[Bartholomew3]

I have the same thing happening when my humbucker guitars are set-up to specs so I usually play with the pickup heights and/or drop the bottom end on the amp.

Depends on the venue/club/room.

[beep.click]

If someone tunes a guitar and hands it to me, and I play it -- it usually won't sound in tune. If I tune it myself, no problems.

For the same reason, I have to adjust my own pickups. The dang thing has to work with the way I play, not the way someone else plays.

[Rod Parsons]

I have the same problem.. I keep the bass sides of my bridge AND neck pick ups, quite a bit lower on mine.. Old, alnico five, '52 reissue bridge pickup, CS. Texas Special neck pickup. '63 Vibroverb Reissue. amp. The bass otherwise, over powers the highs and mids... It's the high "E" string that I have trouble getting enough volume out of, in particular.

[BoogerRooger]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

Go with what sounds good to you. Screw what anyone else says.

Sound advice! Goes for life in general I find.

[tedro]

Originally Posted by Rod Parsons

I have the same problem.. I keep the bass sides of my bridge AND neck pick ups, quite a bit lower on mine.. Old, alnico five, '52 reissue bridge pickup, CS. Texas Special neck pickup. '63 Vibroverb Reissue. amp. The bass otherwise, over powers the highs and mids... It's the high "E" string that I have trouble getting enough volume out of, in particular.

thx, Fezz, et al. i would always do that anyway --how i hear it... has to be at any point in time.

thx Rod, et al, glad to hear at least i'm not alone-- of course how could anyone be in this (guitar) world!

thx, all.
that was fun.

[Stubee]

Yeah you can feel good about that. It is all about what sounds good to you.

I take the bass side of my Tele bass and bridge pickups WAY down from the treble and still get a huge bass sound when needed. I honestly cannot imagine playing a Tele with bass side = treble side.

Ditto what Rod said about the high E too.

[uriah1]

Yea, it seems more mag on the bass side add to the flab factor...all mine are down.

[Narcoleptigon]

It's possible that your hearing may be changing.

Some PUP's sound more muddy in the bass than others. AlNiCo II PUP's are generally more like that.

Your guitar cable may be locating the resonance of the PUP's in a less distinct range.

I tend to keep the bass side about average to very slightly higher than spec for a certain punch. I also tend to drop the treble side down a tad. It depends on the PUP's, etc. Considering the mix within an ensemble, it makes more sense to keep the bass down. It adds with the bass of the other instruments and can sound muddy. Keeping it lower than you would when playing by yourself is a good idea.

[PeterVV]

Trust your own ears, its your gear, its your choice and sound.
That thing someone said about the top E , I ususaly find when the strings start to die, thats the one that goes quiter first, sometimes just change the top E before a full set, just to get some volume back on it.

[Rod Parsons]

Originally Posted by PeterVV

Trust your own ears, its your gear, its your choice and sound.
That thing someone said about the top E , I ususaly find when the strings start to die, thats the one that goes quiter first, sometimes just change the top E before a full set, just to get some volume back on it.

I'll do that... Great idea. I always buy an extra e string when buying a new set, just in case I break one. This idea of changing it now is good.... Thanks R

[Webfoot]

Fender amps are really bassy so it makes sense. I wish Fender had a better bass cut control on their amps.

[Narcoleptigon]

It's probably the speakers that are bass heavy. Too bad they still don't use the old JBL's.

[telex76]

I keep the bass on my amp at a low setting and usually have to lower the bass side of the pickups below what specs call for. It may be my picking technique because if I play someone elses tele the bass is usually overpowering, while when they played it sounded fine.

[Teleterr]

Originally Posted by Webfoot

Fender amps are really bassy so it makes sense. I wish Fender had a better bass cut control on their amps.

Change the cap on the tone to a smaller value.1/2 as much raises it an octave.I changed the cap on my Princeton to be the same as a Bassman since I wanted the opposite. Big change.

[Daddy Hojo]

I'm the opposite. I love having lots of rumble, but then again I've never been in a band with a bass player to cover the bottom end.

[Narcoleptigon]

In most cases, the bass of the bass guitar is centered in a different range. It's more the of an issue with instruments in the same range. Upper bass in the ~250-400Hz range is the most common build up.

[OlRedNeckHippy]

Originally Posted by Narcoleptigon

It's possible that your hearing may be changing........

Yes. The older I get the More Treble I need to hear things clearly.

Been in and out of bands for 40 years. An avid shotgun shooter/hunter. Worked heavy construction for 25 years (loud). My hearing is leaving me. Heridatry issues of hearing loss too.

I always Need More Treble. Sound guys mostly want Bass & Drums. "Feel the beat"....a constant battle.

[Narcoleptigon]

I discovered about 5 years ago that I need to do thorough periodic (~3 months) ear cleaning/flushing. It helped, somewhat. I might up that to every month.